We parked on the shoulder of SR 123 at the south boundary of Mt. Rainier. The road is gated & closed at this point. We walked the road to the Ohanapecosh visitor center near the campground. We put on our snowshoes there, then followed the trail up the east side of the river to Silver Falls. After enjoying lunch at the Silver Falls overlook, we continued around the loop, returning along the west side of the river to the campground.
There's about a foot of packed snow on the road north of Ohanapecosh. Under the trees, there's even less - but enough snow to enjoy being on the snowshoes. We saw numerous elk tracks along our route. The trail is easy to follow and in excellent condition, with only a couple of blowdowns that were no problem. We hiked about 7 miles in all - a lovely winter outing. THEM, Olympia.
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